Those familiar with his quotes of the past shouldn't be at all surprised by this, but RedState editor-in-chief, Fox News contributor, and man with the most redundant name this side of Jar Jar Binks - Erick Erickson - decided to strike the head-up-his-own-ass pose once again when being recently asked by Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) president Russell Moore about America's culture wars and whether or not they were over. He responded with this:
"No, I don't think the culture war is over primarily because the people who appear to be the victors right now are the least likely to procreate, so we will eventually breed them out of existence demographically. So the culture war continues and will continue. And I don't mean to be flippant by that statement. But if you look at the demographic trends in this country, in the next 50 years, the country will be filled with young Christian Hispanic families who listen to country music, and that's just - demographically, they're our people."
The problem with Erickson's argument is, to put it bluntly, he's simply full of sh*t. It doesn't matter the demographic, the numbers are trending in favor of LGBT equality, and there are no signs that's going to stop and reverse itself anytime soon. If he doesn't believe me, then just look at these numbers:
- According to Gallup, in March of 1996, only 27% of the public felt that same-sex marriage should be valid, while 68% felt it shouldn't be valid (net -41%), an all-time low for the poll. Fast-forward to May of 2015, Gallup found that 60% of the public felt that same-sex marriage should be valid, while 37% disagree (net +23%), an all-time high for the poll. In other words, ever since Gallup has been studying the measure, the public's approval for same-sex marriage has increased by 33%, while its disapproval for it has decreased by 31%.
- In a Pew Research poll released last month, it was found that support for same-sex marriage has increased among the following demographics from 2001 to 2015: Millennials (1981 or later; from 51% to 70%), Generation X (1965-1980; from 49% to 59%), Baby Boomers (1946-1964; from 32% to 45%), Silent Generation (1928-1945; from 21% to 39%), Unaffiliated (from 61% to 82%), White mainline Protestants (from 38% to 62%), Catholics (from 40% to 57%), Black Protestants (from 30% to 34%), White evangelical Protestants (from 13% to 24%), Democrats (from 43% to 66%), Independents (from 43% to 61%), Republicans (from 21% to 32%), Liberals (from 56% to 79%), Moderates (from 41% to 64%), Conservatives (from 18% to 30%), White/Non-Hispanic (from 34% to 58%), Black/Non-Hispanic (from 32% to 39%), Women (from 38% to 58%), and Men (from 32% to 53%).
- In a 2012 Pew Research poll, for the first time, it showed more Latinos approving than disapproving of same-sex marriage, as 52% supported it and 34% opposed it (net +18%).
So, let's think about Erick Erickson's head-up-the-ass statement again. He contends that far-right conservatives will eventually win the culture war over gay marriage rights because they'll simply breed the pro-LGBT rights demographic out of existence, Christian Hispanics (whom like country music for whatever reason) in particular. Hmm... I'm not sure which numbers he's looking at besides the ones he's concocted in his own mind, but he may want to glance over the numbers I just reported. Approval of same-sex marriage has increased with each and every generation, a majority of Hispanics support it, and even Republican and conservative support for it has increased over the past 10-15 years. In other words, Erick Erickson, the pro-LGBT community isn't a dying demographic, the anti-LGBT community is.
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/08/05/3688375/erick-erickson-die-out/
http://www.gallup.com/poll/117328/marriage.aspx
http://www.pewforum.org/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/19/latinos-changing-views-of-same-sex-marriage/
"No, I don't think the culture war is over primarily because the people who appear to be the victors right now are the least likely to procreate, so we will eventually breed them out of existence demographically. So the culture war continues and will continue. And I don't mean to be flippant by that statement. But if you look at the demographic trends in this country, in the next 50 years, the country will be filled with young Christian Hispanic families who listen to country music, and that's just - demographically, they're our people."
The problem with Erickson's argument is, to put it bluntly, he's simply full of sh*t. It doesn't matter the demographic, the numbers are trending in favor of LGBT equality, and there are no signs that's going to stop and reverse itself anytime soon. If he doesn't believe me, then just look at these numbers:
- According to Gallup, in March of 1996, only 27% of the public felt that same-sex marriage should be valid, while 68% felt it shouldn't be valid (net -41%), an all-time low for the poll. Fast-forward to May of 2015, Gallup found that 60% of the public felt that same-sex marriage should be valid, while 37% disagree (net +23%), an all-time high for the poll. In other words, ever since Gallup has been studying the measure, the public's approval for same-sex marriage has increased by 33%, while its disapproval for it has decreased by 31%.
- In a Pew Research poll released last month, it was found that support for same-sex marriage has increased among the following demographics from 2001 to 2015: Millennials (1981 or later; from 51% to 70%), Generation X (1965-1980; from 49% to 59%), Baby Boomers (1946-1964; from 32% to 45%), Silent Generation (1928-1945; from 21% to 39%), Unaffiliated (from 61% to 82%), White mainline Protestants (from 38% to 62%), Catholics (from 40% to 57%), Black Protestants (from 30% to 34%), White evangelical Protestants (from 13% to 24%), Democrats (from 43% to 66%), Independents (from 43% to 61%), Republicans (from 21% to 32%), Liberals (from 56% to 79%), Moderates (from 41% to 64%), Conservatives (from 18% to 30%), White/Non-Hispanic (from 34% to 58%), Black/Non-Hispanic (from 32% to 39%), Women (from 38% to 58%), and Men (from 32% to 53%).
- In a 2012 Pew Research poll, for the first time, it showed more Latinos approving than disapproving of same-sex marriage, as 52% supported it and 34% opposed it (net +18%).
So, let's think about Erick Erickson's head-up-the-ass statement again. He contends that far-right conservatives will eventually win the culture war over gay marriage rights because they'll simply breed the pro-LGBT rights demographic out of existence, Christian Hispanics (whom like country music for whatever reason) in particular. Hmm... I'm not sure which numbers he's looking at besides the ones he's concocted in his own mind, but he may want to glance over the numbers I just reported. Approval of same-sex marriage has increased with each and every generation, a majority of Hispanics support it, and even Republican and conservative support for it has increased over the past 10-15 years. In other words, Erick Erickson, the pro-LGBT community isn't a dying demographic, the anti-LGBT community is.
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/08/05/3688375/erick-erickson-die-out/
http://www.gallup.com/poll/117328/marriage.aspx
http://www.pewforum.org/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/19/latinos-changing-views-of-same-sex-marriage/
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